The Treasure (2016)

Digging This

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Romanian director Corneliu Porumboiu (12:08 East of Bucharest, Police, Adjective) returns with this incredibly dry comedy. On the surface, The Treasure couldn't be simpler. Working class man Costi (Toma Cuzin) is approached by out-of-work neighbor Adrian (Adrian Purcarescu), who asks to borrow money to rent a metal detector. He believes that he may have a fortune buried beneath his property, hidden there during Romania's turbulent past. Together they go to the property, accompanied by the grumpy metal detector man, Cornel (Corneliu Cozmei), and begin searching. The search is unremarkable, with arguments over the detector and how deep to dig, with the men standing in each other's way. Things get complicated due to one of Romania's laws, that all "treasure" must be reported to the police. Then comes the remarkable ending; even if you've read a number of O. Henry-type stories, this one is new. Porumboiu subtly layers history and politics into his movie, and even if The Treasure is smaller and lower-key than his earlier films, it establishes him as one of potential masters of non-English cinema in 2016.